In a discussion on MSNBC with Biden administration official-turned-host Jen Psaki, former FBI director James Comey insisted that it was perfectly feasible to imprison former President Donald Trump.
The possibility came perhaps the sharpest into view it’s ever been with a jury’s recent conviction in New York City on all counts in a criminal case over allegedly falsifying business records in connection to hush money from before the 2016 presidential election for a woman named Stormy Daniels. Trump faced dozens of felony accusations, with sentencing now apparently set for next month, though appeals are also looming.
“They would just put him in a double-wide, somewhere out near the fence, out in the grass. And he would eat there, he’d shower there, he’d exercise there, he’d be away — as Danya Perry said — from general population,” Comey said on MSNBC. “But it’s obviously do-able.”
The question of how it might unfold to actually imprison Trump also emerged against the backdrop of his gag order in this same case, which blocked public comments about witnesses, jurors, and others. Trump was found in contempt of that order ten times, though nine of the violations were established at once, meaning it wasn’t as though the punishment process played out ten separate times. But the judge threatened Trump with potential jail-time if he kept it up. Judge Juan Merchan, known in local legal parlance as a Justice, expressed regret that the maximum financial penalty for each violation — $1,000 — would only have limited impact on someone with Trump’s wealth.
It’s unclear if any of Trump’s other three criminal cases will actually make it to trial before this year’s presidential election, the outcome of which could, in theory, scuttle the proceedings — at least temporarily — if Trump wins the White House. For now, Trump’s corner is expressing predictable confidence ahead of further appeals in New York.
